We asked Sebastian Klein, founder of Karma Capital and co-initiator of the Media Forward Fund, three questions. In the interview, he explains why funding programs like the Media Forward Fund are necessary and why wealth poses a threat to democracy.
 

You founded the investment fund Karma Capital and contributed 90% of your personal wealth to it. What motivated you to take this step?

Karma Capital is a hybrid between a non-profit initiative and steward ownership. This means that I have permanently parted with 90% of my personal wealth, hoping that Karma Capital can now have the most positive impact on society. Why did I do this? For years, I have been deeply concerned about the growing inequality in countries like Germany. I firmly believe that this inequality has the potential to tear our entire society apart. Wealth concentration here is unimaginably high: half of the population owns virtually nothing, while just two families possess more than 40 million people combined. After a company I founded was sold, I became part of this problem. But I wanted to be part of the solution instead. That’s why I made the decision to part with 90% of my personal wealth.
 

With the Media Forward Fund, which you co-founded, new business models for media in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are being supported. Why did you decide to get involved in this fund?

Beyond the crisis of inequality, we are also facing a crisis of democracy. In my view, this is closely linked to the fact that a strong democracy requires strong media. When people vote for their governments, they should ideally be informed by journalism, science, and facts — not by propaganda and disinformation. Unfortunately, the latter has increased dramatically with the rise of social media and the attention economy. At the same time, tech giants have destroyed the traditional business models of journalistic media. There are many talented media professionals, but they struggle to access capital and often lack the knowledge needed for marketing and business models. The MFF is designed precisely to support these companies, providing them with access to capital and expertise. I see this as a crucial contribution to preserving our democracy, which is why I was immediately convinced to co-initiate the fund with Karma Capital.
 

In your new book, you argue that we underestimate extreme wealth — and how much it threatens democracy. What should the new German government do to effectively counteract the »inequality crisis«?

With my book, I primarily want to help people grasp the full scope of this issue. In the U.S., we are currently witnessing how extreme wealth is eroding democracy. I don’t want us to follow the same path here. In Germany, inequality has already contributed to the rise of anti-democratic forces like the AfD. If the next government wants to preserve our democracy, it must take action to reduce inequality. Concretely, this means we need to tax unearned income — which is where most wealth originates — at least as much as we tax income from labor. This would relieve the middle class and allow more people to build wealth through their own work. Right now, that is practically impossible, making our economy far less innovative and dynamic than it could be.